A look back

For the first time, Zach has been showing an interest in his stuffed animals, and today ended up throwing them all in his crib, and wanting to crawl in after them. It reminded me of a day long ago, so I ran for the camera.

May 29, 2009; 28 months old

May 5, 2007; 13 weeks old

Just a friend

Thanks to its revival in the Heineken commercial, many of us are now singing the Biz Markie song "Just a Friend." So in our house, that means Zach is singing it too, since his dad thinks it's hilarious to teach him things that your average 2 year old doesn't know (like who the starting pitchers for the Twins are, including the guy who is subbing while Perkins is hurt).

Anyway... that brings me to this morning. Zach has been getting a lot better at playing by himself, and lately I've heard him using this high voice when he's talking as or to (not sure which) his toys - whether it's a car or a pretend ice cream cone. So this morning he was sitting on the couch, apparently creating a conversation between his cowbungadee and his stuffed kitty. Again, he was using that high voice, which is a little disturbing, since it's not like his voice is that low to begin with! But it was what he was saying that caught my attention...

Ohhhh baby youuuu, you got what I need! And you say he's just a friend, you say he's just a friend!

Memorial day weekend

We need a nine-year old around our house. I came to this conclusion after my long-time (we've known each other since we were 6) friend came to visit with her family this weekend. Carrie's son Brandon, who is nine, basically entertained Zach all weekend long. Her five year old, Jacob, did his best too; but I think Brandon's older brother experience really made the difference for Zach. He followed "Randon" around everywhere; together they played endless games of soccer and baseball, and basically whatever else Zach wanted to do. Anyone else have a nine-year old we can borrow?

We had a fun weekend; a good combination of kid fun and adult fun too. We made a trip to the Mall of America, so the boys (the older ones) could spend their hard-earned money on unlimited rides at the amusement park. The first ride they went on was the kind that drops you straight down...
In case you can't see the look of terror on Jacob's face (far left) - it was not the right ride to start with. So after lots of false starts, the next ride Jacob was willing to go on was:Yep, the kiddie balloon ride. Brandon was doing his best to humor his little brother, but this was clearly not what he had in mind. They eventually graduated to the swings, then one of those nausea-inducing spinning rides, the non-upside-down roller coaster, the log ride, and so on. Jacob fell asleep, exhausted, on the way home, so I think a good time was had by all.

I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story - a great weekend made so by beautiful weather, good food, a few drinks, and some wonderful friends.

Ok, I have to comment on this last picture. I think it may be my new favorite picture of Zach. Do you think he likes corn on the cob?

Lawson's Legacy

One week ago was the 6th annual Lawson's Legacy ~ a Heart to Remember golf event (http://lawsonslegacy.org/default.aspx). Lawson's Legacy is a charity benefitting Children's Hospital; created by our friends Kara and Mike in memory of their son Lawson. So every year I look forward to the opportunity to not only support a great cause, but to also get out on the golf course with some friends - the only time of the year I ever golf 18 holes (it's a scramble). We had an absolutely gorgeous day, so I toted along my camera to take some pictures on what is truly a beautiful golf course...

Our (ahem) last place team; Sean providing background music for Melissa's putt

Pam avoiding the water; my *textbook* swing

Goofy putting for prizes

Ladies who golf; the Reagans canoodling... newlyweds! :)

Oh, and we started the morning off with a visit to the Kray household, since we hadn't see little Katelyn in a few months. Look at those eyes!!

When grandparents visit...

When grandparents visit, you get to go out for a nice long dinner with friends, at a place you would probably never take a food-throwing little boy.

Then, you get to take a leisurely trip to Home Depot to pick out the lumber you need for some projects, without having to simultaneously keep a two year old entertained. And then you get to easily load it in their spacious minivan to transport home.

Once home, you get assistance (some helpful, some not so much) on building the new shelves in your garage.

While at the same time, the dandelions, which are causing you to be the scourge of the neighborhood, are disappearing...

And then, your new garden gets prepared, without lots of back-breaking digging.

And all the while, your son is as happy as happy can be. All because, as Zach would say, my grandma and grandpa are here!

PS... and then for days afterwards, you get to be greeted with "I don't want you I want my grandma" when you go to get your son out of his crib in the morning. This morning, after I reminded him that grandma and grandpa had to go home, Zach thought for a second and then said "maybe my grandma is downstairs watching the Twins with my daddy." He was equally disappointed to learn his dad was at work. I am a second-class citizen these days! :)

Chatter

I’ve been trying to remember to write down some of the things Zach says that make us laugh… here are a few I captured:

Daddy – do you want to look at my eyebrows?
- riding along in the car, apparently trying to entertain himself and us by making his eyebrows “quirk” the way his dad can.

Blow away wind!
- Perhaps this is obvious… Zach is not a big fan of wind, which means he hasn’t enjoyed our weather the last few weeks.

Mama - my nose is running!
- From his crib, a blatant effort effort to get me to come and get him out, despite the fact that he'd napped for about 30 minutes. He's well aware I’ve been trying to get him to stop wiping his nose on his sleeve/hand/blanket/stuffed animals…

Mama – you don’t sit down when you go potty, you stand up like Daddy does!
- No explanation needed.

Grandpa, you kicked the ball and hit the fireplace. That’s a bad idea!
- Quoting daddy to grandpa

This car matches my shirt!
- While playing with matchbox cars, shortly after I tried to convince him that red shoes with an orange shirt wasn’t a good idea.

Mama, you can take me out and put me down, and then I’ll hold your hand and walk downstairs to see my grandma!!
- this morning in his crib; then, after I told him grandma and grandpa had to go home…
But I want them to stay at my house just a little bit more!

Doce (doh-say)

Today I discovered that Zach can count to 12 in Spanish. Who knew??? And guess who taught him? Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-Dora, that's who!

Like every new parent, I've struggled with the whole television thing. I've read all the studies, blah blah blah, and even without all that data, of course I realize that it's better to be running around outside than sitting still staring at the boob tube. But I'm an "everything in moderation" sort of person/parent, so I've tried to find the right balance. I understand that the temptation to let the tv be the old electronic babysitter (it really really works!) is a slippery slope, so I try to reserve that for absolutely must get something done times.

Anyway, I'll stop with all my theories and thoughts on kids and tv and just say that Zach does watch tv. He started with a deep love for Sesame Street, and then graduated to an obsession with Dora. Fortunately his cousins Bryn and Maryn had passed along their old dvds; I was amazed at how many times Zach could watch the same thing over and over again. He has since moved on to a mix of PBS and Nick Jr shows, which is how he generally starts off his morning.

Which brings me to my discovery this morning. As I was eating my breakfast, Dora and her loyal companion Boots decided to count some stars. If you've never been *fortunate* enough to watch Dora, they encourage viewer participation. So when they asked Zach to count with them, he started with "one, two". But they were counting in Spanish, and suddenly I hear Zach switch to "tres, cuatro..." Huh? When I asked him about it, he laughed, and then demonstrated that he could actually count to doce!

Now, I'm not claiming he got the pronunciation exactly right, but it was obvious he had the gist of it. So my point is - it's really rather amazing all the ways kids learn, and the things they can absorb when you're paying absolutely no attention!

On the mend

Thanks to everyone for your concern and well wishes - I think Zach has turned a corner and is returning back to his normal self. The fever is gone and his mouth must be better, since he's much more interested in eating. Apparently he needed a lot of good sleep; he took two naps yesterday, which is something he hasn't done in a long, long time. Here's the first one: He actually fell asleep sitting up, but I managed to get him in a more comfortable position. I had no idea how long he'd sleep, so I was quite surprised when he slept for 90 minutes. And I just had to take a picture, because I think the last time he slept on the couch was before he could roll over... which was a really long time ago!

Anyway, I decided to see if he'd still take his afternoon nap, and lo and behold, he slept for more than an hour and a half! He must really have been needing that sleep to feel better, because this is a child who is not normally a long napper, even when he just takes one nap. And this morning he woke up much more like his normal self... hooray!

Mother's day thoughts

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there, particularly two special moms/grandmas I can think of!

We are having a very low-key Mother's Day at our house, since Zach has hand, foot, and mouth disease. I remember years ago when one of our nieces had it, we thought it was something only animals got! Now we know that it is relatively common with kids, and in fact seems to be making the rounds in Woodbury. If you aren't familiar, here's a basic description:

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common viral illness of infants and children. The disease causes fever and blister-like eruptions in the mouth and/or a skin rash. HFMD is often confused with foot-and-mouth (also called hoof-and-mouth) disease, a disease of cattle, sheep, and swine; however, the two diseases are not related—they are caused by different viruses. The disease usually begins with a fever, poor appetite, malaise (feeling vaguely unwell), and often with a sore throat. One or 2 days after fever onset, painful sores usually develop in the mouth. They begin as small red spots that blister and then often become ulcers. The sores are usually located on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks.

So our poor little guy isn't a happy camper. The fever showed up on Thursday, but he didn't seem very unhappy or uncomfortable until yesterday, and after getting the diagnosis, now we know why - we actually saw the blisters in his mouth. So we're treating him with lots of fluids, ice cream and hugs, and some ibuprofen when needed.

The other night Zach woke up in the middle of the night pretty unhappy, so I sat and rocked him for a bit until he was ready to go back to bed. And as I sat there, holding him in my lap on the same glider I used to nurse him in, I was quite amazed at how he didn't really fit on my lap anymore. And while I didn't really want to be awake at 1:30 in the morning, I reminded myself that it won't be long before Zach doesn't even want to snuggle with me in his glider anymore. So I stayed a little longer.

My mind also wandered, as it has many times before, to thinking about how my own mom likely sat holding me on nights like that, comforting me until I could go back to sleep. It's one of those moments that you realize you can never really express your appreciation of everything your mom has done for you in your life. Not only because you don't remember all the little moments that matter so much, but because how could you possibly say a big enough thank you???

I decided the best way to show how thankful you are for every little thing your mom did for you is to turn around and try to be the best mom you can to your own kids. And that maybe, by striving to live up to that high bar, your mom will know that you finally have some sort of understanding of what it means to be a mom. And that you will be eternally grateful.

Let the bocce season begin

We hosted our first bocce night of the season on Thursday. And, unlike last year, we may actually still be able to call our weekly get-together "bocce night", since a few games were actually played. We had beautiful weather, so it was fun to get the kids outside and see how much they've changed - especially those who weren't even born this time last year. Now we have more walkers and runners, so it's going to be interesting when all the kids are present! We had a great time, as we always do with this group, and we are looking forward to many more fun summer nights.

Liz with her hands full of Sawyer & Sylvia; a rare adults-only moment

These kids have bypassed t-ball!

Zach pitching to Evangeline, with Reuben as umpire

Two of the littlest: Sylvia (10 mos) and Sawyer (14 mos; enjoying the challenge of walking downhill)

If you'd like to see more pictures, primarily more of these adorable kids - click here to view the Snapfish album: http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=36091241895361127/l=1176965013/g=86576253/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Puzzling and painting

Zach has discovered puzzles. We started out with the basic wooden ones, and then moved on to jigsaw puzzles, and he quickly mastered an 11-piece puzzle. He is so proud, and he loves to do it all by himself and then holler for us to come and admire his masterpiece. We've recently started trying 24-piece puzzles, and it's fascinating to see the way he goes at these. He starts with the parts of the picture that he likes - ie Dora's face, and then moves on to Boots, then Diego, etc. And he does it the same every time. He's getting close to being able to complete the Dora one by himself, he just needs some coaching from time to time. Of course, he often gets frustrated and the pieces end up on the floor, but it's fun to watch him take on the new challenge.

Zach and I had a new experience the other day with our friends Anne and Maggie. We went to a place called Kiddywampus, so the kids could "do art". The concept is wonderful - basically it's a place where your kid can be free to create with all sorts of materials you probably don't have at home, and you only have to do minimal clean-up! Unfortunately, the theme this week was "glitter galore", which isn't the most appropriate medium for two year olds. But they had a great time painting, drawing on the chalkboard wall, doing some stamping, and shaking glitter everywhere. I'm still finding glitter at home in the oddest places...

But the best part of our day with Anne and Maggie was lunch, which isn't something you can say often when referring to a meal at a restaurant with two toddlers. But Zach and Maggie had a great time together, which is also something we can't say very often. As is normal at their age, the kids still mostly engage in "parallel play" when they are together - playing near each other but not really interacting directly. But while sitting across from each other at the table, done eating and bored while listening to their moms talk, Maggie and Zach started rolling cars back and forth to each other across the table. It escalated into a goofy game, and they were giggling like crazy. So very cute (and loud, but not even the teenagers sitting near us seemed to mind)!

Then we took them outside to expend some of that energy, and they chased each other back and forth on the sidewalk for quite a while, giggling hysterically the whole time. They even were talking to each other - deep thoughts like "Hey - that's dirt!" It was so wonderful to see - these kids have "known" each other since they were about 3 or 4 months old - and they're finally starting to actually enjoy each other's company. Perhaps they interacted more because it was just the two of them; we normally get together in a larger group. Who knows... but I'm looking forward to seeing more fun play in the future!